Environment Rehabilitation – Mid-Valley Crawlers Join Others In Habitat Enhancement Program

Environment Rehabilitation

Mid-Valley Crawlers Join Others In Habitat Enhancement Program

Editor: Eric Bewley Story/Photo: D. Arnold

Detroit Lake, OR – Each year, the Mid Valley Crawlers 4-Wheel drive club joins forces with some great organizations to give back to our forests that we so enjoy spending time in. We work with the Oregon Department of Forestry, United States Forest Service, Oregon Dept of Fish & Wildlife, Bonneville Power Administration, Portland General Electric, Oregon Hunters Association, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ruffed Grouse Society, Stop Oregon Litter and Vandalism, Akzo Nobel Industrial Coatings, and various city of Detroit businesses to help improve the natural habitat in the area for game and non-game wildlife.

The goal is to improve habitat for deer, elk, bear, birds, and many other animals.  There are locations around Detroit Lake and also East on Hwy22 near Marion Forks.  Areas worked on include power line sections, some forested land, and a few large meadows. General activities include spreading seed and fertilizer, planting trees, trimming brush, removing noxious weeds, installing bird, bat, and squirrel houses, and picking up litter.

As expected, we had another fun trip.  Base camp is located at Fox Creek Group site which is ~6 miles up Breitenbush Road from Hwy 22 at Detroit Lake , OR .  Camping is free for the weekend for project volunteers and set up our “ Tent City ” (as we call it) in the trees along the power lines.  The day started at 8am sharp with a group meeting led by Rick with ODF.  He sets the course for the day and announces who the team leaders are.  After the prep talk, we split up and meet with different team leaders / groups.  Everyone is hoping they’ll get to do some wheeling with their group as part of the work day.  If you’re lucky, the Forest service officials may have tasks that include driving cross-country, sometimes with no existing trail in sight – usually to transport supplies to foot or 4wheeler crews.  This year, my group wasn’t as lucky and we got to get lots of exercise on foot.  It was still a great time.  The weather was nice and we got lots of work done!  The day was finished around 3pm for most everyone.  Then it was time to relax until around 6pm when we were served a tasty meal provided by OHA/ City of Detroit – drinks included!  After the meal we did the raffle.  Most all volunteer partners contribute various raffle items; from mugs, to flashlights, to gift certificates, and many others. After dinner some of us were needing some excitement so we fabbed-up a zip line into our camp and had a blast with that for a while. 

Later that night we got a craving for a ‘night-run’ and decided to go on a star-gazing adventure and drove up French creek canyon where we found some amazing views and rolled a few HUGE rocks down the mountain side (a reoccurring activity that we’ve found quite entertaining).

Sunday we explored some dense wooded areas near the Breitenbush River and then explored some power lines trails on the way back down to Detroit Lake .  By then it was getting later and time to head home.

ACCOMPLISHMENT REPORT

2007 Power Line Wildlife Habitat Enhancement Project

Detroit Ranger District

Accomplishments:

1. Acres of created and natural meadows enhanced by fertilization = 93
2. Acres of existing created meadows re-seeded = 10
3. Cubic yards of litter cleaned up = 20
4. Red Osier Dogwood trees planted = 300
5. Bird/squirrel boxes installed = 75
6. Cottonwood trees hinge-cut = 600
7. Acres of noxious weeds removed = 5
8. Acres browse cutback = 10

Materials applied:

1. Fertilizer = 7 tons
2. Lime = 1 ton
3. Seed (Forage mix) = 400 lbs

Expenses:

1. Fertilizer – FS – ($1520) and OHA ($1140)
2. Lime – FS ($300)
3. Seed – FS ($600)
4. Trees – OHA ($200)
5. Dumpster – OHA ($300)
6. Meals – OHA ($680)
7. Porta-potties – OHA ($100)
8. Misc water/drinks –FS/OHA ($50)
9. Equipment/Labor – ODFW ($500) BPA ($2000) PGE ($1800)

Total expenses: 

 FS = $2445 + OHA $2345 + ODFW ($500) +BPA ($2000) + PGE ($1800) = $9090

Volunteers:

Oregon Hunters Association (OHA) -17

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) – 13

Mid Valley Crawlers (MVC) – 20

Akzo Nobel Coatings – 6

FS – 8

City of Detroit – 3

Bonneville Power Company -0

Portland General Electric Company -0

Total Volunteers = 67

In kind volunteer labor value – 870 hrs @ $18/hr = $15,660

Work completed by BPA consisted of contracted removal of noxious weeds along access roads and browse cutback on some additional acres.  Work funded by PGE was completed by FS fire crews as browse cutback in the Mansfield creek area.

Anyone interested in joining in the fun next year, feel free to contact me at: darnold79@comcast.net.

We also have more information embedded in our ‘Active Topics’ thread at: www.midvalleycrawlers.com